REVIEW: Speaking With Ghosts – Searching for Direction (EP)

Speaking With Ghosts are a five piece metalcore band based in Chicago, Illinois. These guys bring that straight up metalcore vibe that we all know and love as they seemed to be influenced by other band’s of the same genre such as The Ghost Inside, Parkway Drive, August Burns Red and they also remind me of early Bury Tomorrow.

This EP begins with a cover of a well known song by the band Linkin Park entitled Faint and this no easy band to live up to as they are one of the most notorious band’s in rock and metal today, however, I can say that it is up there with some of the best covers I have heard in many years! This is without a shadow of a doubt an incredible way to open up an EP, the band perfectly mix their style with the styles of Linkin Park and do not take a single thing away from the original song. I would even go as far as saying that I possibly prefer this version than the original song.

Following up from this cover is the band’s original material and there is no drop in quality whatsoever. The first original track Dreamwalker gives us an insight into what the rest of the EP is all about by showcasing what the band can do with their talent and overall creating a song that is both hard hitting, melodic and lives up to today’s expectations of a metalcore band. Continuing through the EP we have two more incredible tracks Enemy and Thick As Thieves which once again have a great sound and tie into this EP perfectly without once losing the attention of the listener. These songs are filled with energy and will surely get you nodding your head, these tracks also consist of some amazing breakdowns and there is nothing better than a couple of breakdowns!

The next track on the EP is The Departure and this track certainly shows that Speaking With Ghosts can also bring a much heavier side to their music and who better to get on a track with this style than the monster of a man that is Adam Warren of the band Oceano. There is no better way to compliment this band than by having such an incredible vocalist on an exceptionally written track. My only criticism with this track and with the entire EP in general is that I feel that they could have used Adam Warren better in this track as he has such a small part and it isn’t entirely obvious as it is under other vocals.

The final track on Searching for Direction is D.N.R (Featuring Garrett Garfield of The New Low). This track is one of the best on the EP as it really shows off all of the band’s writing capability as it is the most catchy song on the EP and also has a few parts, especially the breakdowns in the song, that will remind you of the old school metalcore that we all listened to such as Asking Alexandria.

In conclusion, this is a contender of the best metalcore EP of the year and I will without a doubt be purchasing this record and be listening to it on a regular basis!

REVIEW: Speaking With Ghosts – Searching for Direction (EP)

Invicta Magazine

May 3, 2017

8.5/10

An incredible EP with five great tracks and an awesome Linkin Park cover

8.5Overall Score

Possibly one of the best metalcore EPs of 2017

An incredible EP with five great tracks and an awesome Linkin Park cover